It was with surprise that I saw that Chief William Mossman retired from Phoenixville Police Department. His new employer will get a solid law enforcement official with street smarts and technical correctness. I always looked at my relationship with the Chief and the officers of the Phoenixville Police Department as a match made in heaven. 

It was a couple months after I arrived in Phoenixville that Chief Mossman was named chief. I did not pay too much attention but soon our paths crossed more frequently and we discussed our common goal to clean up the drug dealing and prostitution in the downtown and north side. I was fresh off of a stint on South Street and most of the actors on Bridge Street would stand out a little more because they were there without the crowds.

I have had a lot of experience in dealing with situations that were less than stellar throughout my career, but never have I been able to forge an alliance like I did in Phoenixville. Chief Mossman was not opposed to working with the community, like in other communities where I have worked.  In the city, I never had a problem because the police were pretty much everywhere in the two streets I had in Philadelphia. I had Kensington Avenue from Front Street to Lehigh Avenue and South Street from Front Street to 11th Street. Both of those projects had multiple blocks and a heavy police presence from the time I got there till the time I left.  Cities like DuBois and Lock Haven and the borough of Downingtown were cooperative but nothing like Phoenixville.

In {Phoenixville, the Chief working with the community watch, with the help of the then Borough Manager Don Edwards, set up what we called “Cops and Codes.” The residents met directly on a monthly basis to go over the problem properties and the trouble spots in the downtown. It was through that cooperative effort that we made strides in almost every area.

The support of the police department enabled me to apply for grants to improve the lighting on High Street on the North Side, to combat what was a persistent threat to public safety. Members of the Community Watch had rocks thrown through their windows and the intimidation was pretty heavy for courageous people like the late Pam Dunn. Undeterred by the threats, taunts and intimidation, Ms. Dunn expanded the community watch to the South Side and a coordinated effort was made to clean up the situation that was holding back the revitalization.

Although I am a big boy and I am not really afraid of much, I always knew that if trouble presented itself I did not need to act personally because the police were willing to respond even though they had staffing problems.  I remember battles with another of Phoenixville’s borough managers about adequate funding for the police department.  The police union bargained for more officers and I lobbied all that would hear me.  They were the lifeblood of my existence in the ‘ville.

I had a lot of gimmicks like creating the “No ‘Ho Zone” which interrupted the prostitutes stroll down the street. Chalk lines on the sidewalk delineating the zone with a small sign explaining that ten feet of sidewalk was off limits for soliciting the customers driving down Bridge Street were as effective. But it was the new foot patrols and bike patrols initiated by the chief that made the difference.

I could stand on the corner of Bridge and Main and tell the 6 foot 8” guy that it was now “my corner” but it was the knowledge that the police would immediately respond to a “Barry Cassidy 911 call” that made me effective. It was also the commitment of the neighbors to get involved that eventually made most of it go away.

The strategy was to get the prostitutes and drug dealers off of Bridge Street and push them to the surrounding blocks where the neighbors would call them in with suspicious activities on the streets surrounding Bridge Street. The relationship we had with Don Edwards let us practice a strategy that was reactive and effective. 

Once we were discussing in a cops and codes meeting about the guy with the “dreads” sitting on the bench on the 100 block of Bridge that was a bad actor in many ways. The chief related that we needed to be respectful of the people’s right to sit on a bench as long as they liked. We all were upset that the bench was a free zone for illegal commerce for both drugs and sex. I had been awarded a grant for a streetscape project and I spoke to Don Edwards and asked if we could remove the benches early and he agreed, within 15 minutes they sawed off the bolts holding them in place and carted them away. While they were at it, public works removed all of the street garbage cans that were used by apartment dwellers as their personal trash receptacles. That move freed up the police to do their job and made the town safer and more inviting.

The turnaround was miraculous! Things started to change in the downtown. The bad actors stood out more than before as we protected their rights to sit on the benches but not to deal drugs from that location. They had the right to sit on the benches but they would not be re-installed for a year.

We also worked with the merchants to be more accepting of the people roving the street with mental issues. The merchants and Main Street Program worked on helping people with hygiene issues and as time went on they were accepted and perceived as assets.  We made the street more welcoming to people with disabilities of a physical nature and guys like the infamous “Wheelchair Bob” helped out in the community on many occasions. I remember merchants yelling at me when I gave him a big bottle of his favorite adult beverage, Yukon Jack, for Christmas. They said I may have killed him because he was diabetic and they had not seen him the week after I gave him his Christmas present. He is no longer with us but…I loved that guy.

The Chief helped us interact with the District Attorney’s office as Assistant DA Norm Pine was instructed to work with us by then District Attorney Joe Carroll (another giant in the field). I remember how the drug dealers scared a lady living in the Pennsylvania Hotel on the North Side and she jumped out of the window to avoid something. The Chief through Sargent Glenn Eckman, Public Works Director Brian Watson and code enforcement officer Frank Tallerico, confronted the owner with Assistant DA Pine and explained how the property could be confiscated if it was not cleaned up.  One of my favorite meetings of all time. 

South Coventry Township should count their lucky stars that they now have William Mossman as their Chief.  Best in the business, on par with Police Chiefs of major cities.  Fair, competent, compassionate and a man that knows how to get the job done.